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Topic: Wakfu (Read 1667 times)

French company Ankama associated with Square-Enix making a new mmorpg Wakfu.This mmo is currently in a open beta state so anyone can register and play for free.Not all classes are still available and not all content is there but there are a lot of places to visit and stuff to do.Main features in no apparent order:1. Isometric 2,5 graphics manga-styled.2. Sandbox gameplay - everything is player run from economics to politics and ecology. There is no vendor or bank npc, players make money by themselves and trade between each other. 3. Ecological system, where resources are not self-growing, players need to repopulate them (besides a few exclusions) by themselves. Thus uncarefull resources consument can lead to ecological catastrophe. 4. Faction pvp, friendly duel pvp.5. Spells\skills evolve as you use them. What you use more, goes up faster.6. Quest less system. Game doesn't hold you by hands and pushes you into right directions. You are free to do as you please. Also villainous behaviour leads to a consequences, like for killing a people of your nations can get you to a jail.7. Free tradeskilling system. One can learn every crafting a gathering skills without any artificial limitations.8. Turn-based combat. You have to think to win it, you don't need a fast reflexes, although finishing your turns sooner gives some bonuses as well.

So what you can do there? Lot of things: You can explore the world, you can kill mobs for items and levelling, you can participate in political run, you can unlock achievements, which gives you bonuses, you can become a famous crafter or famous\infamous pvp person and you can participate in world conquest.

There are 14 classes available in game, every one with it's unique skill set. in current beta not all classes are available though, but most are here already.

I'm one of those "common friends", and I actually like this game, for a change. Not "eh, it's not as bad as X, might as well play it" like, but like like. Chock-full of references and puns, some not bad at all, some groan-worthy, but the game doesn't try to be serious - in fact, it's downright silly in some places, so it all fits together nicely. Some interesting mechanics are in place, and the game generally feels like it's not ashamed of trying new elements.

It's also a sequel to another MMOG, Dofus, connected largely in the same way Everquest and its sequel are: a 1000 years' time-skip with an apocalypse somewhere in it! The rules of both games are roughly the same, as far as I know, and very few things have undergone fundamental changes.

Also worth noting is the fact that this is a kids' game. Make of that what you will.

Been playing this for around two weeks now. I should say that figuring out comboes and working out winning tactics against the toughest monsters you can find is fun. And winning does require at least some rudimental thought: you can get a disadvantageous position that can lead to defeat even in an otherwise easy fight, and you have to utilise the terrain to your advantage: some classes can smash enemies into obstacles for some extra damage, some get some special tiles that give some sort of advantage in certain circumstances. And some playing fields have tiles that reduce your abilities if you stand on one (Or an enemy's, if it has to walk over it, often with your help).The Ecology system Mironov mentioned is another unique feature. Basically, enemies and plant resources don't respawn (Or do, but very slowly) on their own: players have to plant them themselves. What this gives is a world that is shaped by players to a greater extent than your regular MMOG, while not allowing said players' compete with each other over the better plots of land for their creations too much, and also ensuring that the availability of resources fluctuates, and players who take the time to watch over it get an advantage. It's an interesting system, overall, but it is a bit open to griefing - there is a limited open PvP allowing you to stop wrongdoers if they go overboard, but generally it's not a rare occasion to find an unprotected resource missing.

So far the weakest part of the game is crafting: while a lot of equipment is only available through it, the sheer amount of items you have to make to raise your level enough to make new items is huge, making it nearly impossible to get money through crafting early on get access to better materials, and so on.

I should, however, note that this game is not solo-friendly at all: there is simply only so much tactics you can employ alone. And while you can do a lot of things without ever fighting, it's the main focus of the game and the game will probably start to feel too grindy if you do so.So in case you want to give it a try, either bring a friend or let us two know. Better yet, do both!

I like how skills of different classes can cooperate together to pull out some powerful combos if thought out and done right. Of cause your foes doesn't hesitate to pull such tricks too (although beginner monsters seems a bit limited in they ai, that is possibly to cut a beginner players some slack).

An update hit a couple days back, bringing in a whole new country to play in, and two classes to wreak havok with: a Drunken Master of sorts (Who is also a panda!) and a bomb-hurling, chain-reaction-setting, gun-slinging Rogue. Also, epic government trollery in one of the existing countries, always fun!

Whelp, the game's releasing the day after tomorrow (February 29th), in what I assume will either be one of the roughest MMOG launches, or the sneakiest major content update, ever.Subscription fee's set at 5 Euros per month, no hard facts about a free trial yet, but everyone seems to think it won't be timed, but limited to the starting area.

But I must say that Wakfu was quite probably the MMOG I had the most fun with since TR. It's small, unbalanced, full of holes, and frankly took a weird turn with a few of the later updates, but it gives something you don't see in the genre often: actual tactics and natural comboes with at least some of the classes.

It would be interesting to hear about it after a month of playing. I don't like they took that approach where you get to press a few skills for the rest of your toon's career. And if you decided to level different skills from different elements you get punished for this by becoming a underdeveloped. It would be cool, if you can level all skills but fro a fight you had to choose which skills to use (like in gw)

I don't like that, too, but quite frankly, I'm not sure that's true after playing under the new system a bit. Of the three classes I tried it, Enutrofs get a better damage (But not resistance) boost from Treasure Tracker and Prospection, and Xelors and Pandawas have a strong synergy between their different elements.I'm not sure if this is limited to early game, or if all classes are like that, but it's something to pay attention to. I'll keep you informed as it releases.